Ingredients:

• 150 g superior bird’s nest, soaked until soft and stewed
• 3 kg winter melon
• 75 g dried lotus seeds
• 113 g chicken
• 113 g crab meat
• 38 g ham
• 4 cups of stock
• salt

Marinate:

• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp caltrop starch
• 1 tbsp water

Method:

1. Wash surface of winter melon, scoop out seeds and pith with a metal spoon. Parboil in boiling water, remove, rinse and drain.
2. Wash dried lotus seeds, soak until soft and seed. Slice half of the ham and shred the rest.
3. Dice chicken, marinate and parboil.
4. Put winter melon into a deep bowl. Add dried lotus seeds, ham slices and stock to the winter melon. Stew for 1 hour, add chicken, bird’s nest and crab meat and stew for 20 more minutes. Season with salt, dish up in stewing pot and sprinkle with ham shreds.